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Dear Commissioners and Friends of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission,
As summer begins, we are pleased to share updates on several important developments. In this issue, we recap our May Commission meeting on heirs’ property and tangled titles, celebrate the recipients of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Access to Justice Awards, and highlight the Trial Court’s new Standing Orders expanding the availability of remote hearings.
We also feature two recent national developments—a survey revealing widespread public concerns about fairness in the justice system and a new technology platform designed to assist self-represented litigants. Together, these stories underscore both the challenges we face and the importance of continued collaboration to ensure that all Massachusetts residents can access and navigate our civil justice system.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to ensuring that all Massachusetts residents can understand, navigate, and effectively access our civil justice system.
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Recap of May 20th Presentation on Heirs’ Property and “Tangled Titles”
Thank you to everyone who joined our May 20th Commission meeting, which featured retired Judge Dina Fein, Assistant Attorney General Amber Villa, and Professor Thomas Mitchell of Boston College Law School, for a discussion on heirs’ property and tangled titles. Professor Mitchell explained how land, family homes, and intergenerational wealth can be lost when property passes through intestacy to multiple heirs, a problem that disproportionately affects, though is not limited to, Black and Brown communities. He outlined a range of solutions, including estate planning, title-clearing assistance, and policy changes that would allow heirs in possession of property to access government programs even when title issues remain unresolved. He also highlighted opportunities for pro bono attorneys and law students to assist affected families. Assistant Attorney General Villa discussed the connection between heirs’ property and vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties, and the challenges these issues create for neighborhood revitalization efforts. She also described the growth of the Attorney General’s Neighborhood Renewal Division from its origins during the foreclosure crisis to its current work in more than 169 communities across Massachusetts, partnering with municipalities to encourage property owners to repair and secure distressed properties. Judge Fein built on these presentations by highlighting additional legal and programmatic strategies being used across the country to prevent and address heirs’ property and tangled title issues. The presentations sparked a lively discussion among attendees and generated enthusiasm for continued collaboration on this important access-to-justice issue.
The slide deck used during the presentation can be found on the Commission’s website and the presenters have also asked me to let you know that they welcome follow up contact. Their email addresses are below:
- Judge Dina Fein: dinaefein@gmail.com
- Professor Thomas Mitchell: mitchetw@bc.edu
- Assistant Attorney General Amber Villa: amber.villa@mass.gov
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Congratulations to the winners of the 2026 MBA Access to Justice Awards! |
The Massachusetts Bar Association held its annual Access to Justice Awards Celebration on June 2nd at its headquarters in Boston. Commission Co-Chair, Judge Valerie Yarashus gave the keynote and the following awards were presented:
Defender Award – Christine Fosco, Law Office of Christine Fosco, Quincy
Law School Clinician Award– Chaleunphone (Pon) Nokham, practitioner in residence of the Juvenile Defenders Clinic at Suffolk University Law School, Boston
Legal Services Awards – Mithra Merryman, senior staff attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services, Boston and Claudia Quintero, Central West Justice Center, Springfield
Lifetime Achievement Award – Iris Gomez, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Boston.
Pro Bono Law Firm Award – Dain Torpy, Boston
Pro Bono Publico Award – Hon. David Sacks (ret.), volunteer at Community Legal Aid and the Legal Clinic at the Hampden County Bar Association
Congratulations to all the awardees and thanks so much for the amazing work you are doing!
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Trial Court Releases New Standing Orders on Remote Hearings
Next I’d like to highlight a fantastic development in the Trial Court relating to remote hearings. ALL of the departments have recently issued Standing Orders creating a presumption of remote hearings for certain types of proceedings. For example, Housing Court Standing Order 1-26 provides that case management, pretrial, and status conferences; certain emergency motions; and motions that do not require an evidentiary hearing will presumptively be held remotely, while trials, mediations, evidentiary hearings, and other proceedings requiring credibility determinations will generally be held in person.
The Housing Court Standing Order also addresses public access to both remote and in-person proceedings and directs members of the public seeking access to contact the Clerk’s Office. In addition, the Trial Court has published a Guide to Remote Hearings that answers common questions and provides links to all remote-hearing Standing Orders.
Remote hearings are an important option for litigants who face barriers to appearing in person, including transportation challenges, mobility limitations, childcare responsibilities, work obligations, and other practical hardships. The Commission has advocated for expanded availability of remote hearings, as well as clear policies governing public access to them. We are deeply grateful to Trial Court Chief Justice Heidi Brieger and Court Administrator Tom Ambrosino as well as the Chief Justices of all seven Trial Court departments for their leadership and continued commitment to ensuring that Massachusetts courts are accessible, responsive, and fair for all.
Additional information about the Trial Court’s Rules and Standing Orders is available on the Trial Court’s website.
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Nominations for the 2026 Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards Due by June 30th!
The Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services is seeking nominations for the 2026 Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards. Named for attorneys John Adams and John Quincy Adams, the Adams Awards honor Massachusetts lawyers, law students, law firms, and legal organizations that have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to providing pro bono services for the benefit of individuals of limited means. Recipients may be honored for exceptional pro bono service during the year prior to the award ceremony or over a longer period, including service performed across multiple pro bono cases or activities. Service worthy of an Adams Award may include, but is not limited to:
- The creation of or participation in an activity or pro bono program that expands legal services to underserved segments of the population or fills a previously unmet need;
- Significant work on litigation, the outcome of which benefits persons of limited means; or
- Significant work on the adoption of legislation or policies that benefit individuals of limited means.
The Committee encourages the submission of nominations that reflect the diversity of the Commonwealth’s residents. The Committee welcomes nominations by members of the bar, law firms, law schools, or other organizations, and the public, including self-nominations and nominations of colleagues whose work has had a meaningful impact.
More information about award criteria and nomination guidelines can be found on the About the Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards webpage. The deadline for nominations is Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
The Committee is also seeking submissions by lawyers, law students, law firms and other legal organizations who qualify for the Pro Bono Honor Roll.
- To be eligible for the Honor Roll for Individual Attorneys, attorneys must certify that they have provided at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services during calendar year 2025. Attorneys who completed at least 100 hours of pro bono legal services during calendar year 2025 are eligible for the High Honor Roll for Individual Attorneys.
- The Honor Roll for Law Students recognizes students who have completed at least 50 hours of law-related pro bono services over the course of their law school careers.
- The Honor Roll for Legal Organizations recognizes law firms, solo practitioners, in-house corporate counsel offices, government attorney offices, non-profit organizations, and law schools who meet certain criteria for the number of hours of pro bono legal services provided by their attorneys and firm policies concerning pro bono service.
More information and links to online application forms are available at the About the Pro Bono Honor Roll webpage. Applications for the Pro Bono Honor Roll should be submitted by Wednesday, September 30, 2026. Please note that, due to the volume of submissions received, applications will not be accepted after the September 30th deadline.
A ceremony honoring Adams Award recipients and Pro Bono Honor Roll participants will be held on Thursday, October 29, 2026, at 4:00 p.m., at the John Adams Courthouse in Boston.
Established in 1999, the Committee works to promote volunteer legal work in Massachusetts to help people of limited means who are in need of legal representation, in accordance with Rule 6.1 of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct.
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April 28th MCLE Conference on Disparities in Consumer Debt Cases
On April 28th the Commission’s Racial Equity and Justice Committee and Consumer Debt Committee came together with the Flaschner Judicial Institute to co-sponsor an MCLE seminar on racial disparities in consumer debt cases. The program, titled The Rise in Debt Collection Cases in the Trial Court: Race, Equity, and Access to Justice, was well attended and extremely informative. April Kuenhnoff opened the program with a status report on debt cases in Massachusetts and nationally. Professor Frederick Wherry of Princeton University Debt Lab provided an extremely interesting historical perspective. Two panel discussions with both local and national perspectives on debt issues rounded out the day. if you were unable to attend, you can view a recording of the program here.
What We’re Reading
Check out this recent ABA Journal article discussing a survey conducted by the non-profit organization Equal Justice Works that found that 79% of Americans think that the justice system is unfair. The survey further found that “50% of Americans think that they would receive fair treatment from the system themselves, while just 32% think that it is fair to people without legal representation.” The survey’s results also show that more than 60% think that income affects fairness in the justice system and nearly half of those surveyed reported that they think that race affects fairness in the system. Also noteworthy, the survey found that 41% of Americans incorrectly believed that the courts would provide them an attorney in a discrimination case.
Also worth a read is this article that appeared recently in legal tech blog, LawSites, and describes the launch of Courtroom5’s LAW Accelerator, a structured program intended to support people navigating civil court without a lawyer. According to the article, which is authored by Massachusetts attorney Bob Ambrogi, the program organizes the litigation process into a series of guided steps, combining legal education with tools for drafting documents, managing deadlines, and understanding court procedures. It is designed to help users move beyond basic self-help resources by offering a more cohesive framework for handling a case from start to finish. This tool was one of many showcased at this year’s LIT Con, the annual conference and showcase of legal innovation and technology put on by Suffolk Law School, which took place on April 13th.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading and hope you all have a great start to summer!
Warm regards,
Deb
Deb Silva
Director, Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission
617-391-5659 | massa2j.org
dsilva@massa2j.org
Pronouns: she/her/hers